Join custom clothier and award-winning sewing instructor Angela Wolf as she builds on her Tailoring Ready-to-Wear class with new, more advanced techniques. Learn to alter pants: make flattering adjustments to the behind and taper legs for a look you love. Learn to let out and extend waistbands and discover fixes for uneven hips. Master dress alterations for a petite waist and demystify hemming from the waist. Diagnose and fix a zipper that's bowing in the back, replace a zipper in the front fly and adjust a hidden zipper in a side seam. Plus, hem cuffs for both women's and men's shirts with confidence. Learn the tailoring skills you need to perfect the fit of your entire wardrobe.

Lesson plan

Lesson 1. Introduction

Meet your instructor, Angela Wolf, and learn more about the alterations covered in your class.

42:40

Lesson 2. Pant Alterations

Get your pants into shape with Angela's expert alteration tips. You'll learn to analyze the fit, pin up and mark your changes and rip out seams and restitch, both along side seams and at the rear.

45:06

Lesson 3. Waistlines & Waistbands

Whether your waistband is crooked because of uneven hips, too loose or too tight, Angela's got you covered. Men's trousers are surprisingly easy to take in or let out, while women's pants are trickier. But you can do it!

40:23

Lesson 4. Altering Dresses

A dress with a waist seam gives you a lot of alterations options to get the hem just the right length and the bodice fitting well. Angela shows you how to make those alterations and reset any zippers for a perfect silhouette.

46:57

Lesson 5. Zippers

Don't let a broken zipper get you down! Angela helps you tackle the most common zipper fixes, whether it's a front fly zipper in your favorite shorts, pants or skirt, or an invisible zipper in a garment you're altering.

37:13

Lesson 6. Hemming Cuffs on Shirts & Blouses

Ready-to-wear shirts often have sleeves that are much too long. Shorten them at the cuff with Angela's step-by-step guidance. She'll show you how to move or shorten the placket and add more pleats if you need them. Her techniques are suitable for both men's and women's shirts.

"I am only halfway through the classes and I have already learned so many useful tips to make alterations quicker and easier. I especially liked the jeans hemming techniques and the lengthening pants with bias binding. I am going to apply this technique to the school uniforms I lengthen to get the most wear out of them. Angela is a great teacher and explains what she is doing really clearly." - Nat1964

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Lesson plan

2:05

Lesson 1. Introduction

Meet your instructor, Angela Wolf, and learn more about the alterations covered in your class.

42:40

Lesson 2. Pant Alterations

Get your pants into shape with Angela's expert alteration tips. You'll learn to analyze the fit, pin up and mark your changes and rip out seams and restitch, both along side seams and at the rear.

45:06

Lesson 3. Waistlines & Waistbands

Whether your waistband is crooked because of uneven hips, too loose or too tight, Angela's got you covered. Men's trousers are surprisingly easy to take in or let out, while women's pants are trickier. But you can do it!

40:23

Lesson 4. Altering Dresses

A dress with a waist seam gives you a lot of alterations options to get the hem just the right length and the bodice fitting well. Angela shows you how to make those alterations and reset any zippers for a perfect silhouette.

46:57

Lesson 5. Zippers

Don't let a broken zipper get you down! Angela helps you tackle the most common zipper fixes, whether it's a front fly zipper in your favorite shorts, pants or skirt, or an invisible zipper in a garment you're altering.

37:13

Lesson 6. Hemming Cuffs on Shirts & Blouses

Ready-to-wear shirts often have sleeves that are much too long. Shorten them at the cuff with Angela's step-by-step guidance. She'll show you how to move or shorten the placket and add more pleats if you need them. Her techniques are suitable for both men's and women's shirts.

The instructor

Angela Wolf, Instructor of Tailoring Ready-to-Wear: Beyond the Basics

Angela Wolf is the owner of her own custom apparel business, ABO Apparel, and the author of a regular column on patternreview.com. You may recognize her as the couture sewing expert from PBS' It's Sew Easy, or from her contributions to respected magazines such as Threads and SewStylish. Recently, Angela launched her own ready-to-wear collection, was voted the American Sewing Expo’s 2012 Teacher of the Year and authored her own book, How to Start a Home-Based Fashion Business.

Ratings & reviews

Class rating

(24 reviews)

Another Winner From Angela!

by Melissa learning to sew on April 6, 2015

I refer to this class and the other tailoring class regularly. Angela is a phenomenal teacher. The two tailoring classes have helped me to salvage items from my Goodwill bag so that I can wear them again!

I recommend both tailoring course because they go hand in hand with each other. I've learned to take in pants professionally (without the legs "twisting" a little as they have in the past...) and never would have understood how the "scoop" can give your tush a ...

I refer to this class and the other tailoring class regularly. Angela is a phenomenal teacher. The two tailoring classes have helped me to salvage items from my Goodwill bag so that I can wear them again!

I recommend both tailoring course because they go hand in hand with each other. I've learned to take in pants professionally (without the legs "twisting" a little as they have in the past...) and never would have understood how the "scoop" can give your tush a little extra room if I hadn't seen this done in a video. Photo tutorials can't do this technique justice. I refer to these videos every time I make an alteration because Angela is pleasant to listen to, and I feel that each time I watch a section I take in an additional pointer. Great teacher, feels like you are learning from a friend! I love her serging classes as well, and at this point will enroll in anything she brings us!

Frequently asked questions

Because Angela is tackling some of the more difficult clothing alterations, you should have some knowledge of sewing and garment construction. If you are just beginning with alterations, consider Angela's first tailoring class, Tailoring Ready-to-Wear. If you are considering going into the alterations business or expanding your alterations repertoire, this is the class for you!